The European Commission approved Oracle Corp."s proposed $7.7 billion hostile takeover of rival software company PeopleSoft Inc. on Tuesday, clearing the last competition hurdle to the deal. The deal was approved without any conditions, Commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen told reporters.
The Commission decision follows a U.S. judge"s ruling in September, which paved the way for Oracle to continue its pursuit of the rival San Francisco Bay Area firm. The Commission, the European Union"s executive, had been concerned about the impact of Oracle"s proposal on the markets for business applications software -- used by multinational companies to coordinate and plan their financial and human resources and relationships with customers.